Reading Area Community College Community Needs Assessment Telephone Survey.

Reading Area Community Coll., PA.

A telephone survey was conducted in 1981 at Reading Area Community College (RACC) to determine the educational needs of the community, particularly those of prospective students and employers. More specifically, the study sought to determine how the Berks County community perceived the quality of education provided at RACC and to ascertain the educational needs of various subgroups classified by sex, age, ethnicity, occupation, income, and educational level. In order to obtain a representative sample of RACC's service population, random sampling techniques were modified by a search for specific ethnic and age groups. Interviews with 863 people revealed the following: (1) 59% of the respondents perceived RACC to be doing a satisfactory job or better; (2) 53% preferred evening classes; (3) 24% expected to change careers within 2 years; (4) 30% were interested in hobby and craft activities, and 23% showed interest in home skills and personal finance courses and career and financial aid counseling; (5) the major problems prohibiting attendance were family responsibilities, tuition costs, inconvenience of class hours, and lack of career guidance; and (6) the methods of learning most comfortable to people were lectures and on-the-job training. The study report provides a breakdown of responses and recommendations based on the subgroups. The survey instrument and Berks County demographic data are appended. (DAB)